Wrapped, a poem
“It’s weird,” she said. “This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, but it doesn’t feel like it.”
This person shared that in just over a month, she’d be the first person in her family to graduate from college. It was difficult not having her family's support, but she shared that she'd always felt like the black sheep of her family, so she was used to it and preferred to focus on what was next.
She planned to join the AirForce, and had dreams of using her education to help homeless Veterans in the future. Growing up she saw many family members who were Veterans struggle to get civilian jobs due to mental illness.
For herself, she dreamed of being able to do things not because she needed to to survive, but because she wanted to. She aspired to be able to make choices for her life to support her own mental wellbeing. “I hope my story can inspire others to push for what they want, no matter what they’ve gone through,” she said.
Listener Poet Jenny Hegland
Veterans Affairs Health Care Talent Academy (HCTA)
November 2022
Wrapped
The present is wrapped
in a blanket
of accomplishment,
woven with thick acceptance
made of necessity --
it’s heavy.
At work, I maneuver
a fifty-ton crane;
tie together shipping containers with steel bands
to keep them from moving
when the ship’s at sea.
Who sees me? Wrapped as I am
in this blanket, warm but worn.
I’m about to graduate
from college, first in my family.
I’ve had four years to process
they won’t be there to see it.
I grew up around machines
so the crane is easy.
What’s not is pushing
for what I want
& providing for myself
without asking for help.
The future is wrapped
in a blanket
of accomplishment
softened by struggle,
strengthened by choice,
my choice, to keep me well.
